Escaping the Past: Part Four of WJU in Vienna

Our latest installment was written by Andrew Wilson (2014):

Vienna, Austria, is a major city in Europe that still has a nineteenth century feel to it. This is primarily because the city proudly displays and emphasizes its most famous rulers, the Hapsburgs. The grandest and most notable buildings in the city are former palaces of the Hapsburgs. Two of the more famous palaces we visited were the Hofburg and Schönbrunn. All are now museums dedicated to the history, collections, and extravagance of the royal family. They contain the royal silverware, dinner plates, centerpieces, art collections, and famous religious relics. There is also a museum dedicate to Empress Sisi. Along with Emperor Franz Joseph, Sisi is the most famous historical figure in Vienna. She is mentioned or displayed in almost every museum in the city.

It is surprising to see that Vienna has little to no acknowledgment of the 20th Century, especially World Wars I and II. Outside of a small room in the military history museum, evidence of Austrian involvement in World War I is nonexistent [Ed. note: as previously mentioned, the room dedicated to World War I was undergoing renovations]. The same goes for World War II, though it has a larger wing in the museum and flak towers throughout the city (they are off limits to the public). The concentration camp at Mauthausen is the only place that shows what happened it Austria during World War II. However, it's impossible for a place like Mauthausen to escape its past.